COVID-19 & Healthcare

PDA to Congress: ‘Austerity Is Not an Option’

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Educate congress headerby Pamela Powers Hannley

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) members visited roughly 200 Congressional offices nationwide on May 15 with an urgent message for their representatives: "Austerity is not an option." In addition, 2,000 PDA members called their Congressional representatives yesterday, and Robin Hood Tax supporters held demonstrations in San Francisco and Fresno. Over the past year, PDA's monthly letter drop campaign has mushroomed from a handful of offices visited to nearly half of Congress.

Once again, here in Tucson, PDA  visited the office of Representative Ron Barber. Once again, we asked him to back the Financial Speculation Tax (AKA the Robin Hood Tax) which would charge a tiny fee for every Wall Street transaction, stop speculative minute-by-minute computerized trading, bring stability to the financial markets, and generate billions of dollars for our economy. Once again, we asked him to protect the middle class, the veterans, and the poor by protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. 

Mr. Barber, aren't there more regular folks in CD 2 than bankers? Why would you protect Wall Street– and not your constituents?

The only thing I can say to you is, "We're not giving up, and we're not going away." 

More about yesterday's actions after the jump.

Here’s Biggs’ deal: Medicaid restoration in exchange for reducing voting rights

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By Craig McDermott, cross-posted from Random Musings

Correction added on 5/15 – during my initial perusal of SB1492, it
appeared as if some Medicaid expansion provisions were included in it
already.  While there are some changes to AHCCCS provisions contained in
it, they are minor and *not* part of a Medicaid restoration package.

 

Well, the Senate has introduced its budget package, placing the
Medicaid restoration plan in the budget itself but adding a kicker, SB1493.

It has the rather innocuous subject of "elections; omnibus".

It really should be called "extortion; all-in-one; every bad election-related scheme offered by the Republicans this year".

There's
summarily removing voters from the permanent early voting list (PEVL),
effectively barring most schools from serving as polling places, making
successful recall elections all but impossible, barring organizations
and campaigns from collecting and returning early ballots, elevating
administrative barriers to initiative petition drives, and more.

Any one scheme would render a bill "unpassable" (and has, many times during this session); placing them all in one bill means that the Senate leadership (read: Andy Biggs) expects factors other than the merits of the proposals to influence legislators' votes on the bill.

The other bills in the package are:

Tea-Publican Congress to vote to repeal ‘ObamaCare’ again to satisfy freshman teabaggers

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, the "Worst. Speaker. Ever.", has scheduled a vote in Congress this week to repeal "ObamaCare," not that the 39th time will be the charm, but because freshman Tea Party ideologues who have not had their chance to vote to repeal "ObamaCare" want their opportunity to vote against "ObamaCare," because it makes 'em feel good.

The Hill reported, ObamaCare repeal vote next week in House:

In a nod to the right, House Republican leaders will once again seek to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law next week.

The
decision, announced Wednesday by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor
(R-Va.), represents a shift by top Republicans in the lower chamber.

After
the 2012 election, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said ObamaCare is the
“law of the land” while Cantor indicated Republicans should torpedo
parts of the health overhaul. 

But conservative rank-and-file
members balked, saying freshman GOP members should have the opportunity
to vote on a full repeal measure. Republican leaders agreed.

More B.S. from the Goldwater Institute and Tea-Publicans on Gov. Brewer’s Medicaid (AHCCCS) restoration plan

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

You can file this one under stupid shit the Goldwater Institute says and that reporters unquestionly repeat as mere stenographers. You can cross-file it under stupid shit that Tea-Publicans believe but which has no basis in the reality based world (they believe in confidence fairies and unicorns, i.e., the entirely disproved and discredited faith based supply-side "trickle down" GOP economic theory).

The Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required) reports Medicaid expansion critics question viability of hospital tax:

Opponents of Gov. Jan Brewer’s Medicaid
expansion plan are concerned the proposed hospital tax that would pay
for Arizona’s share of the new AHCCCS coverage may not last long,
leaving the state on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars a
year.

Christina Corieri, a health care policy analyst at the conservative
Goldwater Institute, said the National Commission on Fiscal
Responsibility and Reform, often referred to as the Simpson-Bowles
commission, has proposed eliminating states’ ability to use hospital
taxes to pay for their share of Medicaid costs. Even President Obama and
leading congressional Democrats have floated the idea of scaling back
provider taxes, she said, which are currently capped at 5.5 percent of a
hospital’s revenue.

Community Forum on Health Care for Women and Children

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Announcement from Congressman Grijalva: Community Forum on Health Care for Women and Children hosted by Congressman Grijalva You are Cordially InvitedCommunity Forum on Health Care for Women & ChildrenMay 29th from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please join Congressman Raúl M. Grijalva, including national and community health center experts, to discuss health … Read more